New students to martial arts will often realize that it becomes so much more than just exercise or a sport – it is a way of life that changes you physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. One of the most amazing changes one sees is in your self-confidence.
Last week, we talked about how martial arts body posture affects self-confidence. Now we will give you five more ways that martial arts improves your self-confidence.
1) It gives you the confidence to defend yourself against an attacker or a bully.
There’s less worry about traveling alone or traveling with the kids because you know you will have the confidence to be in control of any situation. You learn the techniques and mental skills that you need to defend yourself should you need to. Additionally, through repeated practice, your body commits it to muscle memory giving you the confidence that you will remember how to defend yourself if the need to do so arises.
2) It gives you the confidence to know that you can achieve your goals.
Martial Arts is a lifestyle change with goal setting at it’s heart. Black Belt degrees are long term goals with multiple mini goals and achievements along the way. As you train and learn each new technique, you feel immediate success which pushes you through to the next goal and achievement.
Once you’re in the groove of martial arts goal setting, you’ll quickly realize that this works in all aspects of life. You’ll move from procrastination or not knowing how to start to breaking tasks down into mini goals to achieve along the way.
3) It gives you the confidence to feel great and know that you look great.
How many workouts can you think of that burn between 400-500 calories an hour? Martial Arts is one! That’s amazing in itself! What’s even better is that you won’t even realize that you are changing your body and growing stronger while you’re doing it. Looking great and feeling great is just one of the few perks you get from practicing martial arts.
4) It gives you the confidence to perform and compete in front of others.
If you’ve ever seen a movie with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Chuck Norris, then you have seen that Martial Arts is just as much a performance art as it a competition sport. At some point in time during your Martial Arts training, you will find yourself joining competitions or performing in demonstrations. Regardless of your rank or training, everyone gets butterflies before competing or performing. The fact that you are competing shows the world how much you believe in yourself and your skills. Additionally, it also shows that regardless of the outcome, you have the sportsmanship skills to accept whatever the outcome is because you know that win or lose, you will learn something from the experience.
5) It gives you the confidence to make new friends.
Martial Arts, from karate to kickboxing, is taught in a group setting which will expose you to many different students with similar interests. Often the best of friends are found as white belts rank up to black belts together or as students work together to learn techniques. At its core, martial arts teaches us the importance of communicating with others and it increases our social circles tenfold.
Whether you’ve just started martial arts or are a seasoned practitioner, the self-confidence you develop is unrivaled by any other activity. This is one reason why Martial Arts brings out the best in it’s students.